Mothers Touch
by french-charlotte
Summary: Fox lands on Earth and is taken into custody. With everyone turning their backs on him, will he be able to escape?
1. Somethings Wrong

Oke doke, this is like my third story. But if you review, I'll tell your fortunes. No joke!! I'll post your fortunes with the updates.  
  
Oh yeah, I own nada. Just some made up people. If you want to use em, go right ahead. I really don't care.  
  
Oh and the story takes place 2 years after the defeat of Andross( Star Fox 64) ; so that means no Dino Planet in it. Sorry sorry sorry for all you fans of it.  
  
Two years, just two years, since Fox defeated his biggest enemy; his kryptonite. It seemed so surreal to him. For years, all he could think about was avenging his fathers' death, and he finally achieved victory. So for two years, they have been taking it easy, living off of the big amount of money they got from the conquer of Venom. Sure, they had a few big missions, but nothing to big.  
  
"Fox? Fox? Fox are you awake?" Peppy whispered, pushing his late best friends son a bit. The 20 year old vulpine laid in bed; still and not moving.  
  
"Fox? Are you up?" The hare continued. Fox heard him all right. He always wondered why Peppy continued to ask if he was awake if he knew he wasn't. By now, this is normal. Fox remembers when Peppy adopted him at the age of 16 because his fathers bereavement. The older man would always wake Fox up this way.  
  
Groggy, Fox looked at the clock. It read 4:25am. God, why is he waking me up? Fox thought. He dropped his head down in to the pillow.  
  
"Fox, I know you're up. C'mon we have a problem. Get up!" Peppy yelled, pulling the comforting blankets away from the boys warm body.  
  
Feeling the cold air, Fox curled into a ball, moaning. "Peppy! What is it?" Fox said.  
  
"We're not in the Lylat System anymore."  
  
Fox head shot up in attention. Every muscle now wide-awake, he jumped up. Only wearing his plaid red boxers, he looked around the messy room for his pajama pants and a shirt.  
  
"What? What are you talking about?" Fox asked, grabbing a plain white tee shirt.  
  
"Yeah, we're no longer in the Lylat System. We must have warped sometime in the night."  
  
"That's impossible. We would have felt something." Fox pulled on his pajama pants. He glanced at Peppy. Wearing his carrot matching pajamas, Fox could tell he just jumped out of bed as well.  
  
"I don't know how we did it. There's something worse too." Peppy said, as they stepped out of the room, running down the halls to the bridge. Falco, wearing his jeans and a shirt; what he wore last night, was already waiting. Slippy was all dressed and looking at the controls. Fox looked around, expecting to see ROB.  
  
"Isn't it ironic how our leader is the last one up in an emergency?" Falco nastily said. Fox just glared at him. This was no time to argue with Falco.  
  
"Peppy? What's worse?" Fox asked, getting ready to go to his chair.  
  
"The controls are all unresponsive." Peppy stated.  
  
"And, let me guess, that includes ROB?" Fox said, Peppy shook his head. "Shit!" Fox yelled, and punched down on the control panel.  
  
"How the hell did this happen? Get Pepper on the line." Fox ordered, anger obviously in his voice.  
  
"Um. . . we can't." Slippy took this one.  
  
"Lemme guess. No communicators either?" Fox said, distress in his voice.  
  
"It seems that the warp shook everything. Sorry Fox." Slippy replied.  
  
"Can't you fix it?"  
  
"I wish I could. When it shook everything, it looks like it encrypted everything as well. And this encryption is foreign to me. If we had ROB-"  
  
"Yeah but we don't Slip." Falco said. "Hey, what about the arwings? We have com links in those."  
  
"yeah yeah!" Fox said, hopefully.  
  
"Tried. Arwings' won't even start." Slippy said, looking down.  
  
"So, basically were stuck?" Fox said, knowing the answer already.  
  
"Yeah, we just have to wait." Slippy said. Fox sighed and started to pace. Peppy was starring off, obviously not with them right there. Slippy went back to work at his attempt to fix things; typical Slip. The young avian continued to sit there, not knowing what to do or say.  
  
"So, how did we get like this?" Fox finally asked, trying to access the ships log.  
  
"Don't even try." Peppy told his young leader.  
  
"Well, just on a hunch, I would say we slipped through a cut in a warp. That's the only way I can think of it happening." Slippy explained, lifting his head up from his work.  
  
"But, we would have woke up." Fox said.  
  
"Essentially, no we wouldn't. See, the way it works is you have to be sleeping in order to go along with the ship. Anyone awake basically disappears."  
  
"Jeez, this reminds me of Langaleers." Falco said.  
  
"Well, I guess we'll just wait and see." Fox said, sighing. He couldn't handle all of this. He just couldn't. He was only 20 years old. He thought when he accepted the position of being leader; he would be able to handle of it like his father did. Now he was having a nervous break down.  
  
Fox glanced at a picture of James McCloud on his desk as he laid his head on the pillow. What would he have done? The great James McCloud would have been able to get out of this situation in a second. Fox's mind whirled with the memories of his infamous father. He was great, smart, and a wonderful loving dad. Longing for his father's advice and warmth, a tear fell down his furry face. Closing his eyes, he felt his tiredness starting to take the best of him . . . .. 


	2. Captured

"Fox, I'm so proud of you. I can't believe you're valedictorian! I mean, I know you've been valedictorian before." James said boisterously hugging the smaller fox.  
  
Fox smiled wide. This is where he loved to be; in his fathers warm embrace. Feeling his fur brush against his, feeling his fathers' breath on his neck, and feeling his secure embrace around him. Pulling away, Fox still felt the embrace linger on him.  
  
"Thanks. Looks like I'm going to be a better pilot than you." Fox said, laughing heartily. James took in the laughter instead of an insult and joined in the giggling.  
  
"Well, you're mother would have been very proud, as she always was." James said, very serious. It had only been 6 months since they both lost his mother from the horrible accident. James still blamed himself, but knew he had to be strong for his son.  
  
"Yeah she always was. I still miss her long speeches. I guess this is the first year without any speeches." Fox said, looking down.  
  
"Hey, she's in a better place. We both know." The elder Fox reassured his upset son.  
  
"Yeah, you're right, I guess."  
  
"Hey, when I get back from this mission, we're going to celebrate. I'm looking at buying a new car."  
  
"You just bought a new car." Fox said, curiously.  
  
"I wasn't talking for me, for you! I mean, you did just get your license." James said, smiling as he watched Fox's eyes widen in happiness. "I was thinking either Maserati or Xterra. I guess it all depends on what kind of car you want."  
  
"Totally Maserati." Fox said, out of breath. This was great for him. He was expecting a shitty car.  
  
"Great, well I have to get going. You be good." James said.  
  
Fox eyes burst open from the dream/flash back. His eardrums were about to burst from the alarm going off. Glancing at the clock, he saw it read 11:19am. He slept for a good seven hours.  
  
"What the hell is that noise?!" Fox yelled, covering his eyes. There was no answer, instead he heard something even worse; voices.  
  
"Did you hear something? I thought I heard someone."  
  
"I don't know. Check out that room right there. Be careful."  
  
Shit, Fox thought, there are people on the ship. Jumping out of bed in a quiet fashion, he tiptoed over to the dresser where he had everything of special value. The fox opened up a drawer to reveal his new blaster, well charged.  
  
"Ok, now check that room over there. I heard something."  
  
Great, this is it. Fox thought. Did someone get on the ship somehow? Fox wondered. He turned the blaster on and was ready for the attack.  
  
The door blew open with a fierce kick from the outside. Hiding on the side of the dresser, the intruders could not see anyone.  
  
"No ones in here." Fox heard the man say, he pointed a flashlight into the dark, windowless room. Sighing a sigh of relief, Fox was more than happy to hear the people would be leaving his room.  
  
"No, go in there and look." Another man yelled. "Never mind, I'll look myself, you piece of sorry shit. You're good for nothing. Don't touch a lot of things. They'll want to test it all."  
  
Fox heart skipped a beat. 'Test'? What the hell did that mean? Where were they? He held his blaster at the ready. The man walked in the room and strutted over to the bed, tossing the blankets aside a little. With his back to Fox, Fox had a great shot.  
  
Panic took over his body in a heap before he could react. Oh god, these are humans, Fox thought. Before his could pull the trigger to let hell loose on the man, his body went into panic shivers. His breathing became deep and heavy. He dropped the blaster, making the man turn around in a surprise.  
  
He pulled out his gun to see Fox's body pushed flat up against the wall, shivering with fear and panic. His eyes closed tightly shut as though trying to shut out the situation.  
  
"Don't move." The man said. Fox remained silent. He heard enough stories of humans to be afraid. The man dressed in heavy black, slowly walked over to the young fox and kicked his blaster out of the way.  
  
"Hey, I found another one. He looks less dangerous though." The man yelled. Another one? Does that mean they found Peppy, Falco, and Slip.? Fox thought.  
  
Panic and fear, already devouring his body, took a turn in action. Without even thinking, Fox jumped up in fear and jumped kick the man in black, knocking him in the head. The man came crashing down against the wall. He was screaming, but his words were incoherent to Fox. He dashed for the door.  
  
As he slammed the door shut, he looked around himself. The hall was bright with a bunch of lights and. . . . . . . . . . . . . . .a bunch of humans.  
  
A man in a black and white suit saw him emerge from the room and slam the door. Fox spotted him watching him as well. Taking a risk, Fox sprinted down the hall. Whizzing past the many humans checking out everything around the ship, sure enough the dark suited man ran after him as well.  
  
His mind was racing; probably faster than him. Where should he go? What should he do? These people are hostile! They'll kill him! Before he could think anymore, he had made it to the docking bay, where the arwings were. Instead of seeing the normal four arwings assembled in it, there were loads and loads of humans along with them. Even worse, he could see the docking bay doors open, and there was light and ground and an environment.  
  
Oh god, we're on Earth. Fox thought, going back into his panic shivers. Again, without thinking, his paws ripped the doors to the docking bay open. Just about every human saw him do so. Running, running, running. That's all he could do. Sure enough, he out ran all the humans. Everything seemed to be moving in slow motion for him. Humans darting out in front of him, running, humans yelling, running, the doors of the docking bay closing, running faster, and finally, he took in the fresh oxygen from the outside.  
  
Outside was worse than in. It seems that they landed in a field. Littered all over the field were humans. Millions of humans. Far off in the distance, Fox could see reporters. Seeing Fox, they went ballistic.  
  
Before Fox could move another step he felt himself being shoved down to the hard ground. As he hit the ground, he heard something break in his chest. Nausea over came his body with fear and panic. Breathing became labored for him.  
  
Glancing up, Fox saw the dark suited man on top of him. The pain suddenly hit him like an arrow. He yelled in pain as his was bursting the warmth of throbbing. Everyone's eyes were on the couple.  
  
The man stepped off the vulpine and pulled his up off his feet, practically dragging him. Having a hard grip on his prey, he called out orders to other men. Everything was now a blur. This was surreal.  
  
"You're a fast runner, you know that." The man said to the fox. The only thing Fox could respond with was whimpers and moans. The man heard him.  
  
"Are you alright? Did I hurt you? Do you understand me?" The man asked, panic sensed in his voice. Fox couldn't muster any words. His shivers were bad and he became limp. Shakily he pointed to his chest, blinking very long. His breathing was long and labored. The man heard that well.  
  
"Is it your chest? Did something break?"  
  
Fox just nodded, still pointing to his chest in pain. Using his free hand, the man probed the young vulpine chest, feeling. Touching a tender spot, Fox let out a loud whimper.  
  
"Great, you have a broken rib." The man said, slowly letting Fox down on the ground. The shivers and whimpers continued. "Hey, we need a doctor over here!"  
  
Fox looked up at his savior. Why was he helping him?  
  
"Don't worry. You'll be all right. I know, I know, it hurts. Just breath deep. I don't think it hurt anything major." The man reassured him.  
  
Fox just nodded. He barely heard anything he said. Starting to blank out, he felt himself slipping into darkness. The man nudged him a little.  
  
"Hey, stay awake." The man said. "By the way, I'm John, John Henning."  
  
Fox looked up at this new acquaintance. Was this man playing him? His eyes lids started to go down again, he just couldn't stay awake. It was a feat that was impossible. The nudge was a little harder this time, probably because his eyes were fully closed.  
  
"C'mon. I mean it. Stay awake. We can't let you slip away. This is to big of a project." John said.  
  
Oh, so that's what he was. Fox was a project for him. He was basically just a paycheck. He was silly for thinking that this human could actually care for him. Principally, he was just a mere alien. A weird alien that no one care for.  
  
"I-I-" Fox whispered. The man watched him intently. This was the first talking from him.  
  
"What did you say?" John asked, leaning in closer to him.  
  
"I-I-I-I can't stay. . .. . I can't stay a-a-awake." Fox whispered. Closing his eyes and falling into darkness. . . . 


	3. Don't Say A Word

"Is he awake yet?"  
  
"Nope, not yet."  
  
"I want to ask him questions."  
  
"Well, you'll have to wait for him to be awake."  
  
"Did you do any tests yet?"  
  
"Yes, we took blood and did the essential physical tests. We still have to do the mental tests."  
  
"Great. Did you call the psychologist yet?"  
  
"Yes, she's coming in this afternoon; that is, if he wakes up."  
  
Fox longed not to open his eyes, but he had to. He had to face the world. He had to face the despair, the anguish, and worst of all, the humans.  
  
Fox opened up his eyes to find himself in a good-sized room. It was all white; the ceiling, walls, and floor. He found himself lying on a bed. The bed was in the corner and was dressed in thin white sheet and white blanket. On one of the walls was a long mirror that ran the length of the room. Fox knew damn well what that was. Smelling of sterilization, he sat up and scratched his nose.  
  
"Hey, he's up! Look!" One of the men said, pointing. The other man watched. They resided behind the mirror.  
  
"Ok, lets go get some men together and go in there." The other one said.  
  
Fox sat on his bed, playing with a piece of thread that had come loose off his pajama pants. He was still wearing the same things he wore the day of his capture. The vulpine thought the humans would, at least, have some decency to give him some new clothes, but no.  
  
Fox's ears perked up as he heard the door being up bolted with the many locks on it. As the door opened up to reveal men, his panic shivers returned to him yet again. As the men filed in to the room, he fell back against the wall, lying on the bed. He curled into a ball, his tail wrapping around his body. Closing his eyes, he felt a man sit on his bed, sticking something cold into his ear.  
  
"Temperature 103 degrees Fahrenheit. It's been that for the past week." The man said, walking away.  
  
Keeping his eyes tightly shut, another man sat on the bed. His shivers became worse.  
  
"Are you cold?" The man asked.  
  
No answer.  
  
"Are you sick?"  
  
No answer.  
  
"Do you speak English?"  
  
No answer.  
  
"Sir, Agent Henning reported that the extraterrestrial spoke English." A man in the back said.  
  
"Ahh, well, I'm Agent Freeman. I'll be monitoring you and taking care of the questioning. Are you ok?" The man asked.  
  
Fox shook his head, eyes remaining closed.  
  
"Lt. Brown, get him another blanket." Agent Freeman said an order. Fox heard a man leave the room. Feeling he could no longer suppress his curiosity, he opened his beautiful green eyes.  
  
"There ya go. Open up a little." Freeman responded, fidgeting on the bed. Fox let out a whimper and closed his eyes again. The young fox just couldn't handle this any longer. This was to nerve racking.  
  
"What is it? Why are you crying? We're not going to hurt you."  
  
Fox slowly, whimpering, sat up and pointed down a little towards the bed. Freeman followed the point. As he followed it, he realized the problem.  
  
"Oh, you should have said I was hurting you." Freeman said, standing up, revealing Fox's tail, which he was sitting on. As he swayed away, Freeman took his seat back on the bed while Fox returned to his shaken state against the wall. He laid on the bed shaking and shaking.  
  
"Ok, lets start with the normal questions. State you're full name."  
  
Fox responded by closing his eyes. He was to scared to say a word. "Ok, I see this is going to be difficult. You know, the president would love to hear where you're from or anything about you. If you could just say one word, that would be good."  
  
No response. Freeman stared at the shaking ball of fluff against the wall. This was going nowhere. Standing up, Freeman turned to the men.  
  
"Have the doctor prescribe Barbiturates for him." Freeman told a few men. They had worried looks on their faces.  
  
"Don't worry, it's just an anxiety pill." He added, glancing back at Fox's shaking form. Fox listen intently. He was fully aware of what will happen when he takes the drug.  
  
The many bolts and locks on the door were taken off and the men filed out as quickly as they filed in. Fox closed his eyes in frustration and fear. How did he get in this place? What is he going to do?  
  
Before he could answer himself, or even attempt, the door opened up again. A single man walked into the room, holding a tray of food. He set it down next to the bed, not even glancing at Fox.  
  
He couldn't even think of food. Emotions were mixing together, and he didn't even have an appetite. Although he wasn't hungry, he was very thirsty. Instead of getting up and reaching for the water in a glass, he closed his eyes and wished for this to all be a horrible horrible dream.  
  
As he opened his eyes, he saw a very petite pretty lady sitting on a chair, holding a big folder in one hand. In the other hand were a pen and a clipboard. She had blonde short hair and brown pretty eyes. She must have been in her late 30's early 40's. She was looking through the files, totally unaware of Fox's stare.  
  
Fox sat up a little bit. This got her attention. Looking up, she set her accessories on the floor next to her. Pulling her chair a little bit closer to Fox, he started to shiver and moved back. She stopped moving and smiled. The smile blew Fox off guard.  
  
"Yeah, they said you'd do that." She said, smiling, picking up the folder and clipboard. "So, I wish I could call you something, but no one knows your name. So, I think I'll just call you Fox, because that's what you are."  
  
Fox smiled a little at the irony. She took notice of the smile and raised her eyebrows, writing some things.  
  
"So, you like the name I gave you, huh? Well, am I a little close?"  
  
Fox didn't say anything, just kept shivering.  
  
"Hmmm . . .you don't talk much, huh? Personally, I think that's the best kind of man. You know you won't have to fight over the control with him." She said, smiling.  
  
Fox continued shivering, but back away from the wall, and lay down on the pillow, watching her.  
  
"Don't worry, I promise I don't bite. Well, only my husband." She smiled again. Fox liked her. He smiled a little again.  
  
"So, I heard you didn't eat. Well, I don't blame you cause this food sucks, but you were sleeping for two weeks, aren't you hungry?"  
  
Fox shook his head.  
  
"Are you thirsty?"  
  
Fox nodded. The lady bent down and picked up the glass of water. "Here."  
  
He pulled away, shaking his head furiously.  
  
"You're an odd little creature. You are a boy, right?" She said, heartily and smiling.  
  
He grinned and shook his head. The shivers started to slow a little bit.  
  
"I can give you some medicine to stop those tremors."  
  
Fox shook his head furiously again. He had a worried look upon his face and back up a little bit.  
  
"Ok Ok, no pills. Are you sad? Is that why you don't talk?"  
  
He nodded.  
  
"I wish you could tell me some things about yourself. It would really help. Like how old you. Everyone is putting wagers on that your around 30 or 40. I said 33. Am I close?"  
  
He shook his head, slightly smiling.  
  
"Great, there goes 20 dollars."  
  
Fox turned his head in confusion.  
  
"Oh, dollars are our currency. Well, I'm going to get going. Oh here." She said as she pulled out a water bottle from her big purse. It was half filled. She handed it to Fox.  
  
"Its bottled water, don't worry. I'll be back to check on you in a few hours, I promise. Oh and my name is Dr. Sheryl Henning." She said, walking to the door. "And by the way, if it's your friends you're worried about, don't be. They're not here though. We strategically placed you all on separate parts of the country." She started for the door.  
  
"Why?" Fox asked, in a loud whisper.  
  
The people behind the glass watching were now all eyes on the little room. Freeman walked up to the glass and stared at the fox.  
  
Sheryl stopped at the door and turned, staring at the sitting up Fox in shock. "What did you say?"  
  
"W-why are they n-not. . . . b-by me?" Fox stuttered, watching her walk closer to him.  
  
Returning to her chair by his bedside, she pulled out the files and clipboard again. "We didn't know if you guys can talk telepathically to one of another or any of that sort. Just a precaution." She replied, still in shock.  
  
"Only one of us can." He said, watching her.  
  
Her eyebrows went up. "Oh, which one? You?"  
  
He let out a laugh. "No. Peppy, he's the hare."  
  
"Oh. So you do have names?"  
  
"Yeah."  
  
"Would you mind if I asked you a few questions. Just some simple ones." She hoped he would say yes.  
  
"Only if Freeman doesn't come in here. Or any other military men." He said, setting down regulations.  
  
It was her turn to laugh. "No problem. Don't worry, I don't like them either."  
  
He smiled at her.  
  
"Ok, so, what's your name?" She said, holding her pen at the ready.  
  
"Fox James McCloud." He replied, watching her smile creep across her face.  
  
"Oh, so I was right! Ha! And when's your birthday?" She said, boisterous.  
  
"Uh, November 16th 2656." As he said the year, she looked up at him.  
  
"What year again?"  
  
"2656."  
  
She set her pencil down and looked up at him. "Are you sure?"  
  
"Yeah. I remember the year."  
  
"Wow."  
  
"Why? What year is it here?"  
  
"2010." She replied, looking up at him. His eyes grew big. Looking down, she could sense he was thinking.  
  
"Wow, Slip didn't say we slipped through a cut in time, only warp." He whispered to himself.  
  
"What was that?" Sheryl asked. Fox looked up, catching her stare. To myself. . . I meant to say that to myself. Fox thought.  
  
"Huh, its was, huh, nothing."  
  
"Well, I'm sure that it was something and Freeman will want to hear everything about it. I know you don't like him, but he'll want to know as much as possible."  
  
Just hearing his name sent the tremors back onto Fox. The shaking began again.  
  
"Hey, honey, it's ok. Don't worry. He won't hurt you." Sheryl tried to comfort. As he closed his eyes, she petted him a little on the top of his head, trying to calm him down. His shivers started to slow.  
  
"So, how old are you? I mean, how old will you be? You're birthday, is what, in two weeks?" She asked.  
  
"Yeah. I'm turning 20." He said, watching her eyes widen.  
  
"You're kidding? Wow, no one guessed that young. We all thought older."  
  
"Can I ask you a question?"  
  
"Shoot."  
  
"How old are you?"  
  
Sheryl laughed a little. He was very amusing and great. She just hoped that he wouldn't have to be so scared anymore.  
  
"I'm 42. Yes I know I'm old. Probably as old as your parents." She said, laughing. Fox's smile dripped off his face. Sheryl took notice and wrote it down.  
  
"I don't have parents."  
  
"Oh, what happened to them?"  
  
"An accident."  
  
"Oh." Sheryl said. Being a psychologist she knew when to stop a conversation or when it became to rough for them. Fox already overcame a lot today, no need to have a walk down memory lane.  
  
"So why are you here, on Earth?" She asked, curious.  
  
"Another accident." 


	4. Opening up to the right person

Cougar Hunt- You are, like, my favorite person in the world. And to answer your comment, yes, I've noticed I've put the other stories on hold. I think I may actually try to finish one of them after I finish this one. It's just that I hit a roadblock with them. Thank you for reminding me though. You gave me inspiration!! God I love you. Oh I almost forgot!! You get a free fortune told! Just lemme gaze into my crystal ball. . . . . . .. . . . . . . . . . . . . hmmmm. . . . . . .. . . . . .  
  
Ahhhhh, I see, well, you are a very smart person and you hold onto family life (Am I right, huh?). You like reminiscing on past experiences, but only the good ones. You don't mind speaking your mind when you know it'll help someone (Like me!) but you know when not to say something. You're smart and have a lot of common sense. And (unlike me) you like to finish projects you start.  
  
Well, was I close?!?!?!  
  
REVIEW!!  
  
Two weeks passed since Fox's first word. Everyone, including Freeman, thought he was making great progress. Only downfall was that Fox would only talk to Sheryl. Numberless times many men have tried. They even threatened Fox with hurting him or his friends.  
  
Once, it got so bad, that Freeman lost his temper and grabbed Fox by the neck, choking him. As Freeman yelled and screamed at Fox to answer his questions, the vulpine continued to choke and cough for air.  
  
It was Sheryl that ran into the room and saved Fox. Watching from behind the mirror, she darted from the watching room to save him. As she opened the door, Fox was kicking and throwing his arms around to stop the attack from the older man.  
  
"Stop it! Agent Freeman, take your hands off my patient, or so help me God, I'll have you written up for this!" Sheryl screamed, trying to pull his arms free from Fox's neck.  
  
"He is not only your patient. He is government property and not obeying our commands." He replied simply. His grip on the young fox's neck didn't loosen.  
  
"If you do not let him go, I will kill you right here." She said, pulling her gun out of her side holster and pointing it at the angry agent. He stared back at her.  
  
Dropping Fox on the bed, he walked towards the door. Sheryl put her gun away and rushed to Fox's side, who was holding his neck. The shivers started over again. Great, we've been doing so well with holding back the tremors She thought.  
  
"Get out!" She yelled at Freeman, who lingered at the door. Rolling his eyes at the angry lady, he walked out.  
  
"Are you ok? Fox, I'm so sorry that happened." She asked. Being motherly, she pulled him into a warm embrace. Feeling content and safe, Fox wanted to spend the whole day in her arms. Without even noticing, his started to whimper and cry. Sheryl pulled away.  
  
"Y-you promised." Fox whimpered, looking into her eyes.  
  
"I know, I know." She said, petting his head again. "Fox, why don't you answer them? If you just answer them, they won't be pressuring so much."  
  
"I-I know. And I try . . .I r-r-really do." Fox said, whimpering, trying to hold back tears. "But I just c-can't talk to them. They re-really scare me."  
  
"I know they do. But why do you think that is?"  
  
Fox sniffed. "Because of the stories I-I-I heard about you humans."  
  
Sheryl looked confused. "Stories? What do you mean?"  
  
"My father used to tell me stories of humans. Stories of how they treat visitors."  
  
"No, that's not right. You're the first alien-err, visitor to this planet. There must have been some kind of mistake." She said, looking down in concentration. Being part of the government, she would have known about any kind of aliens.  
  
Before Fox could respond, Agent Freeman rushed into the room. As Fox slammed his body against the wall in fear and fright, Sheryl stood up, ready for another quarrel. Freeman held up his hand, noticing the defensive women.  
  
"Don't worry, I'm not coming back for round two. We have an emergency." Freeman explained, stopping and shooting glare at Fox. Fox shot it right back.  
  
"What is it?" Sheryl asked, putting her defense down.  
  
"The president wants to know how the guest is doing." He said.  
  
"Tell him Fox's vitals are alright. Tell him the progress he's been doing." Sheryl explained, adding a little smile at the end. She was so proud of him.  
  
"Well, if only it was that easy. The president is here. He wants to meet him. See him for himself."  
  
Fox's eyes darted from Freeman to Sheryl and back to Freeman. This was so over whelming. He didn't want to meet the head human. He didn't want to meet any humans, least the most powerful.  
  
"No, no." She said, shaking her head. "He's not ready for anymore visitors, especially today. We've pushed him to far for him to break. Mr. President will just have to wait another month or two."  
  
It was Freemen's turn to shake his head. "Nope, he won't wait. He wants to meet him now, today."  
  
"Why can't he meet one of the others that came off the ship?" Sheryl was getting frantic. Why wouldn't these people just let her do her job?  
  
"The president doesn't want to travel far. Plus, when the others were questioned about who they work for, they said Fox McCloud, and that would be him." He said, looking down at Fox. Panic filled his eyes, along with confusion.  
  
"No, no." Was all Sheryl could say, she had run out of defenses. She knew whatever she said would be futile.  
  
"Dr. Henning, I'm not asking for your permission, I'm telling you." He said in his most uptight voice he could muster.  
  
"And why must you inform me of this?" She replied in her most snotty voice.  
  
"Because, we've taken notice that the little brat will only talk to you. So, we need you to ask him questions."  
  
"No. I refuse . . . . .respectfully." She said, adding a little grin.  
  
"Dr. Henning, this is an order, not a request." He said, walking towards the door. "Have him ready in about ten minutes. The president doesn't like to wait."  
  
And with that, he turned and left. Sheryl, a little turned upside down from the fight, turned to a flustered fox.  
  
"So, what's going to happen?" Fox asked, as Sheryl sat down. She took his paws in her hands. God, She thought, why do I always feel so bad for him?  
  
"Nothings going to happen. Several men are going to come in here. One of them is a very powerful man, so please be good. He basically decides what happens to you. Um, and they're going to have a list of questions for me to ask you. Don't you worry about any of the men in the room, all right? Just focus on me. We don't need you going into any tremors." She explained standing up.  
  
Fox didn't say a word, just watched her leave the room and inform the other men that he was ready. In reality, he wasn't ready at all. It was mind- boggling how this one man decides his fate.  
  
Before he could think anymore, the door opened. First in came Sheryl, with a wide grin on her face. Fox could tell it was a phony smile. She was just trying to brighten things up.  
  
After her came Agent Freeman. No emotion was spotted on his face. He just trudged into the room, residing a little off to the side.  
  
Men just began to file in one after another, when finally, the president walked inside the room. Right away Fox could tell which one he was. Wearing a casual looking suit, Fox could he was a family man, but could tell he was straight down to work with the serious face. The President sensed the stare from the vulpine and looked back, a smile creeping across his face and nodded his head a little, a sign of saying hello. The gesture made Fox feel a little more comfortable.  
  
Sheryl situated herself on the chair next to the bed where Fox sat crossed legged Indian style. His tail was dangling off to the side, swaying every once in a while. In her hands was a sheet of white paper. She smiled at him.  
  
"Well, Mr. President, this is Fox." Sheryl said, turning to look at the president.  
  
"Ah, is that his name, or just what we call him?" He asked her, raising an eyebrow.  
  
"Uh, it's his name sir." She said. Fox chuckled a little as she became tense with talking to the president. His guess was that she didn't get to see a lot of important people, even if she was part of the government.  
  
"How do we know that? Did he have some kind of ID on him?" The president asked.  
  
"Uh, no he did not. But he confirms it's his name." She said.  
  
"Oh. Go ahead with the questions then." He replied, crossing his arms and staring at Fox.  
  
"Ok Fox, just look at me, don't look at them. We don't want you getting all nervous again." She said, turning his head with her hand.  
  
"Nervous?" The president asked.  
  
"Uh, Yes Sir, he goes into tremors when he's around a lot people, other than me." She explained.  
  
"I see. Well, it seems you have a very special bond with him then." The president said. Sheryl just nodded.  
  
"Ok, well, Fox. Can you state your full name for me?" Sheryl asked him.  
  
"Yeah, Fox James McCloud." Fox replied, keeping control of himself. He needed to keep control this time because this one mad decided his fate.  
  
"Great. Can you state where you were born?" Sheryl said, looking down at the paper with questions. Never had she ever-asked Fox where he came from. It always seemed to straight forward for their casual conversations.  
  
"Yeah, sure. Um. . . .St. Johns Hospital." He answered.  
  
"Can you tell me what city that's in?"  
  
"Uh, Corneria City."  
  
"What country is that?"  
  
Fox was confused. "Country? You mean planet? Well, its on Corneria." Fox said, looking around at the confused faces. The presidents' face was only full of concern.  
  
"Ok, Fox. That's fine. Um, what planet are you from?" She asked, looking up from the paper. She was secretly wishing he wouldn't loose it from the questions.  
  
Fox's eyes darted around the room, looking at the faces, wondering what they were thinking.  
  
"Fox?" Sheryl said, turning his head again, to look at her.  
  
"Huh? Oh sorry. Uh, I'm from Corneria. That's where I grew up." He responded.  
  
"Ok. Um, what universe is that?"  
  
"Um. . ," Fox said. Why were these questions so hard? "The Lylat System."  
  
"Where is that?" She asked.  
  
Fox thought hard how to answer this. "Um. I don't, I'm not sure how I got here. It was an accident. I have no idea where I am. Only that I'm on Earth." Fox rambled on. The president took interest in the turn of the conversation. Fox was getting flustered and was talking a lot more, especially around other people.  
  
"Well, we're in the Milky Way. Does that help?"  
  
"The Milky Way. . . The Milky Way. . ." Fox said, thinking. "God, I've heard that before at the academy."  
  
"Academy?" Sheryl asked.  
  
"Oh yeah, sorry, not aware I was thinking out loud. Yeah, the academy is where I went to school."  
  
"What kind of academy?"  
  
"A military academy. I went there for 8 years." He explained. "And I remember doing a research project on the different universes. Milky Way. . ."  
  
It dawned on him. He remembered. It was right next to the Krakic System, which was a friendly universe. If he could make it to the Krakic System he would be able to make it home . . .  
  
"Fox? Do you know where it is?" Sheryl asked, watching Fox's face light up.  
  
"Yeah, yeah I do. I did a huge research paper on different universes. Took like three months. Yeah, I had, like, a page and a half of the Milky Way." Fox explained.  
  
"So, do you know how to get back to your home planet from here?" The president asked. This totally caught Fox and Sheryl off guard. The Presidents stare didn't leave Fox's green eyes, and Fox just looked at the President, deciding what to say.  
  
"Sir, he doesn't-" Sheryl started.  
  
"No, no I don't." Fox quickly said. The president just nodded, not stirred.  
  
"Why don't you know how to get back?" Sheryl asked.  
  
"Uh, we slipped through a time and warp cut in space. It threw off our whole ship. Nothing was working. Not even our arwings." Fox said. As he said the last word, he mentally slapped himself.  
  
"An arwing?" The president said with concern in his voice. He walked towards Fox who started to shake a little bit.  
  
"Sir please-" Sheryl said, trying to stop him.  
  
"No, I want to know what it is." He said. "Well?"  
  
"T-those are our planes. They're called arwings. Did anything happen to them?" Fox asked, looking up into the presidents' face.  
  
"No, in fact, we got them working for a little while, but we don't know how to keep them working. We've just, sort of, jump started them." The president explained, looking down into Fox's widening eyes.  
  
"R-Really? I-I-Is my arwing ruined? Did you take it apart? What happened to it? It was a present from my fath-" Fox started, panicking and starting to stand up.  
  
"Fox, sit down." Sheryl said, she wished this would just stop.  
  
"Your arwing is fine, relax. We just wish that we knew how to use it. It's a great creation, really. In fact, we laughed a little at the thought of a simple vulpine flying something that great before man." The president said, chuckling a little.  
  
"Y-You are the president, right?" Fox asked, still standing. He was very short compared to the president. The president nodded.  
  
"Do y-you think I can get some of my things from my ship, that is if I'm going to be here for a while, but being a mercenary, I have a feeling I won't be leaving." Fox asked, giving more information away about him.  
  
"First, I don't think it will be a problem getting some of your things. I bet you're getting tired of wearing the same thing over and over again. Plus, I would love to ask you a few questions about things we have found on the ship-" The president began.  
  
"If it was in Falco's room, don't even ask." Fox interrupted. The president laughed a little.  
  
"No no. Just things we have found. A weird gun-"  
  
"Ah, my blaster." Fox said, smiling a little. "I hope you didn't break it. It was new and expensive."  
  
"See, that's what I want to learn about, your different weapons and such. Also, some kind of device we found that I've been curious about. Here, I brought it." The president said, pulling out a little miniature machine from his pocket. Fox strained to see it.  
  
The president watched a smile spread across Fox's face as he took out his communicator. He showed it to Fox.  
  
"We have no idea how to work it. We have no idea even what it is." The president said, showing it up.  
  
"It's my communicator." Fox explained. "May I?"  
  
The president dropped the device into the open paw of Fox's. Fiddling with it, Fox just couldn't make it work.  
  
"Must have gotten broken when we landed. Ah, hold on, I think I've got it." He said, pulling a few open wires together. Everyone watched intently.  
  
"What does it do?" The president asked.  
  
"It's a communicator, what do you think it does? Would you like me to communicate with someone from my planet? That is, if it decides to work." Fox asked.  
  
"Uh......I'm not sure how hostile you guys are."  
  
Fox chuckled. "Typical. I don't blame you for wondering but believe me we're not. Oh shit, I need my wristband to communicate. Damn it. When you took things off of me, did you take anything off my arms?"  
  
"I believe so, why?" The president asked.  
  
"Because that's what I need to use to send calls. When you give it to me, you'll see a show." Fox said, handing back the communicator.  
  
"Ok. Oh, you said something about being a mercenary?" He asked, watching Fox sit down on the bed again.  
  
"Yeah, that's what I do for a living. We're part of a team, all of us." Fox explained. This was getting really old, really fast to him. He just wanted it to stop. He glanced at Sheryl, who was watching Fox. The Vulpine could tell what kind of stare she was giving him. It was a stare of proud ness.  
  
"So, you fight wars for money?" The president pressed.  
  
"Yeah, basically." Fox replied.  
  
"I see. Oh here, we always retrieved these, it looks like a photo album, but has a password on it." The president said, taking a big album from a man off to the side.  
  
It was a photo album, but on the top of the album were a little computer window and a keyboard with odd symbols. Fox took the album, speechless. Without saying a word, he dialed in the password, and opened up the album.  
  
The president walked over to the side of Fox, looking at the pictures on the first page. There was one of a red male fox and female fox in the hospital. The female fox laid in a bed, holding a baby fox.  
  
"Thank you for bringing this. This means the world to me. It's all I have left." Fox whispered, running his paw over the picture of his mother, father, and him.  
  
"Who are these people?" The president asked.  
  
"These are my parents and I." He said, pointing to the McCloud's first family picture. Fox flipped to the middle of the album and opened up to a picture of Fox and his father standing in a hanger. In the background were two arwings, identical.  
  
"This is when I first got my arwing." Fox explained. He closed his eyes, reminiscing.  
  
"So, families are close where you come from?" The president said, pulling Fox back to reality.  
  
"It all depends on who you talk to. My family was until. . . the accidents." Fox said, opening up a little towards the front to reveal a picture of him, Falco, Fara, Katt, Bill, and Slippy all at the academy during a kegger. Fox still doesn't remember how he drank half a bottle of Everclear that night.  
  
"Who are these people?" The president asked pointing.  
  
"Friends." Fox said. He opened up to a page with him, his father, and his mother all on vacation at Zoneness, before it became horrible, when it was beautiful. Pulling out the picture, the president just watched in silence.  
  
Fox closed the book, but instead of pressing 'lock' on the keypad, he pressed 'open'. He lifted the book up to the presidents' face.  
  
"Here, you keep it. It'll help you learn stuff about our planet and the way we live. To be honest, it's not very much different." Fox explained as the president took the book.  
  
"Thank you. We'll set up a date when we can take you to the site where your stuff is and your plane. You can explain things to us." The president said, getting ready to leave the room.  
  
"Um . . . when will I be able to return home?" Fox asked. Everyone that was filing out, stopped to hear the response.  
  
"Hmmm, we're not sure. But we'll keep you updated." He said, and started to leave. Fox stood up.  
  
"Sir, I'm a mercenary." Fox outbursted. All eyes were on him. "I've probably killed so many people that were prisoners to us, it's not even funny. Sir, what I'm trying to say it, I know what the phrase, 'we'll keep you updated' means. Please don't leave me wondering here. Now, when will you send me home?"  
  
A sad smile crossed the presidents' face. "I'm sorry, Mr. McCloud, as much as I would love to send you on your way home back to your family and friends, it's not entirely my decision. We still have a lot to learn about your planet. And most of all, we don't know if you'll come back with an army to attack us. Its obvious that you're smarter than us."  
  
"So, basically, I'm just a freak show and the curtain never closes." Fox said sadly, turning around, and getting on the bed.  
  
"I can't promise anything, but I'll do my best, that is, if you do your best." The president said, surprising everyone, including Fox.  
  
Fox turned. "I guess that'll have to do." 


	5. She Knows

Good news, a new chappie. Bad news, it might take me a little while to update because I have a lot of research papers due in classes. But if you just keep reviewing and bugging me, I promise to try.  
  
Shout out to my reviewers!  
  
Fox McCloud: Gotta say it, I luv the name ^_^ Thank you so much for the review. I love you Fox!! Yeah, I was also wondering who the president would be, so I thought leaving out a name would be the best approach. I was thinking about adding in a woman president, but a woman would be all touchy-feely with Fox; not the approach I wanted. Gimme a name, I'll add it in.  
  
Boysetsfire: Just on a hunch, you're a pyro, right? I could kiss you for the review, but sadly I have a boyfriend. . . .it's ok, he doesn't have to know. LOL. Well, I wanted them to have the same calendar system, so I made it like they slipped through a cut in time, kind like the Stephen King novel/movie "The Langoliers."  
  
Tiger64: * sniff sniff * I can't make any funny remarks on your name. 'Tis ok. I like the flashbacks a lot. In fact, my other stories, which I'm attempting to finish, are stories about Fox's life. So, a lot of the time, you'll see connections between the stories. I just thought it would be interesting. Thank you thank you thank you for reviewing. I love you!!  
  
Cougar-Hunt: You are definitely awesome. Thank you for your support and inspiration for my other story as well. And, as I promised, I updated "Past Story." But the chappies are kinda small. I promise for more if you promise to review . . . . . is it a promise . . .. ? Sorry for thinking you were a girl. I'm just a stupid Sicilian girl, don't mind my mistakes. . .  
  
And now for the show!  
  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
  
Two months, it had passed two months since the president's visit to Fox. Fox actually thought the president would be back sooner; he seemed so interested in him. But, then again, things don't just happen over night. One thing Fox was sick of was the constant questions over and over again. He was very tired of stating his name and where he was from. A new question, however, was what kind of animal he was.  
  
Everyone just assumed him a fox. Officials started questioning if he actually was a fox, because he was an alien. Sure enough, Fox answered back with "I'm a red fox." Throwing off the officials, Fox felt satisfied. If he had to sit in this hell hole, he's was going to make their job a lot more stressful; which was exactly what he did.  
  
Back at the academy, they learned several different approaches with trying to get out of being a prisoner of war. Well, he wasn't exactly a prisoner of war, but was treated as one.  
  
The first approach of being nice and sweet only lasted a good month. He started the sweet approach right after his famous conversation with the president. Everyday he would answer every single question, as most helpful as possible. At first, everyone was very impressed with his cooperation, but started to get used to it. He would even offer to hold the door open for Sheryl when she was leaving his room. She knew that he wasn't even allowed towards the door, so she had to deny his offer.  
  
After a month of pretending to be the 'boy next door' the attempt was futile. The second attempt began. At the academy, when they would do role- playing for attempts of getting out, Fox was always the best at the second approach.  
  
The act of being as loud and obnoxious was an easy task for Fox. Everyday when someone would come to ask a few more questions, Fox would answer them, but always with sarcasms. He acted bored with the questioning and was always pretending to be preoccupied, his mind never 100% on the person.  
  
Sheryl always had a clue what was going on. She took record of his mood changes. He would go to great depths just to be a pain in the ass. Such as yelling at the mirror for three hours that he wants to take a bath or trying to rearrange the room with the sparse furniture in the room.  
  
He just kept it up. He knew he had two other choices for escape. The third attempt is the silent treatment. He had tried that in the beginning, but not out of choice. The silent treatment just pissed off Freeman, something he didn't want to do anymore.  
  
The fourth attempt is to strategically plan out an escape route. Fox secretly was planning, but he needed the president to bring him to the site of his arwing and ship. So, he was stuck with being the class clown.  
  
Fox was scratching the paint off the walls with his nails, making words, when the door opened. He was on the letter 'k' in suck. Glancing back towards the door to see who had come in, he only saw it was Freeman. The elder man looked over the work on the wall to see what he was writing. Fox went back to his work after seeing who was at the door.  
  
"Nice. Here's some clothes we got from your ship. The president is here to bring you on a field trip." Freeman said, throwing clothes on his bed. Fox finished the 's'. He moved back to see his work of art; "Freeman Sucks." Smiling with himself, Fox felt content. He moved over to the bed to see what kind of clothes they grabbed for him.  
  
Someone had no sense of style. They had grabbed his Pacific Sunwear jeans, but had grabbed his American Eagle shirt. Striding over to the mirror, he held up the clothes.  
  
"Yeah, I need to talk to Captain America in there. I can't wear Pac Sun and AE. They just don't go!" Fox yelled to the mirror. He just waited for the door to burst open with an angry Freeman.  
  
Nope, no Freeman, instead it was Sheryl. She nicely opened the door to find Fox watching the door.  
  
"Fox, please just wear the clothes. They didn't know what to get. We were all surprised you had Earth name brand clothes. Please just wear the clothes." Sheryl begged, setting down a pair of Fox's shoes, Adidas Campus II.  
  
"Fine, but, where do you want me to dress?" Fox asked stubbornly. Sheryl held out her hand, signaling around the room.  
  
"Are you kidding?! Those pervs could see me!" Fox said, lifting his hand up to the mirror.  
  
"Fox, no one will watch you dress." Sheryl said, sighing. He was just like a little kid.  
  
"Yeah right. I won't do it. That's just gross. At least let me go to the bathroom and get dressed." Fox suggested. Sheryl seemed to be contemplating rather or not to let him. Rule of thumb with letting Fox use the bathroom was he got tops, 10 minutes. When he was allowed to take a shower he only got 15 minutes.  
  
"Fox . . . . .fine. Lets go." She said, opening up the door, and holding out her hand to grab his. Under one arm, Fox held his clothes and grabbed his shoes. With his free hand, he held Sheryl's hand. It was required that when he used the bathroom, he had to hold someone's hand.  
  
She led him down the hall to his very own bathroom. He knew it well. In the bathroom, he had his toothbrush, toothpaste, shampoo, soap, everything. Sheryl closed the door and stood right outside, waiting.  
  
It didn't take very long for him to get dressed. In minutes the door opened up again, revealing the dressed fox. Fox even had his blue shoes on.  
  
"You look great, now, lets go. The president is waiting." Sheryl said, taking Fox's hand. Fox just left his old clothes in the bathroom. He figured he was the only one who was in there.  
  
As they walked down the hall, Fox watched them pass up the door to his room they usually turned down. Mentally, Fox was memorizing all the turns they made in the building. Finally, what seemed like forever, they made it to the elevator.  
  
"Fox, why are you always so obnoxious?" Sheryl asked.  
  
"Obnoxious? I think I act fine." He replied, stepping into the elevator. Sheryl pressed the button to get them to ground level.  
  
"I can tell, Fox. You're always so loud and annoying. Do you want attention?"  
  
"Maybe. At least I can say I achieved something." Fox muttered. Sheryl just starred at him. She had a clue at what he was doing. She was, after all, a psychiatrist.  
  
The elevator made it to the ground level. As the elevator opened, saw, for a split second, a beautiful lobby with marble tile. Reporters littered the whole lobby trying to get an interview with the alien.  
  
Fox didn't think he ever had so many pictures taken of him. They just kept flashing and flashing. Sheryl grabbed his hand and pulled him through the big crowd of people.  
  
It was so loud, Fox couldn't even think. Everyone was shooting out questions. "Why are you here?" "Give us a statement?" "Are you a messenger from god?" Fox was a little confused on the last question he heard. He barely went to church.  
  
"Just don't try answering them Fox. It's easy not to say anything." Sheryl said to Fox, pulling him through the group.  
  
Finally, what seemed like forever, Fox made it to the head of the building. Waiting by the glass doors were big military men holding guns. They pushed the reporters away as they opened the door for the couple.  
  
Outside, a black limousine was waiting for Fox and Sheryl. The door was even open, waiting for them. Many military men stood on the sides, holding the people away.  
  
Walking to the limousine, Fox had to stop and look around. It had been so long since he had seen the outside. Everything looked different from what he had grown up with. There weren't a lot of planes flying in the sky, which was weird for Fox to see. Instead of seeing animal faces and such, he saw human faces. It was all really odd to him.  
  
Although the door to the car didn't look quite inviting, Fox knew he had no other choices. If he really felt like being daring, he could always take a run for it. He didn't exactly feel like being shot that particular day; maybe tomorrow.  
  
Sheryl pushed Fox into the car, stepping in herself after him, and slamming the door shut. Across from Fox and Sheryl, the familiar president sat, along with Agent Freeman and a familiar face.  
  
"Hello Mr. McCloud. I've heard some interesting stories with what you've been doing lately. Getting bored, are we?" The president asked, smiling. Fox couldn't quite place who that familiar person was.  
  
"You can call me Fox." Fox replied. "Yeah, I'm pretty bored."  
  
To Fox's surprise, Sheryl leaned over and kissed the familiar man. Noticing the look from the vulpine, Sheryl moved back to her position beside him.  
  
"Fox, do you remember me? I'm Agent Henning. I was the man that broke your rib." The familiar face said, laughing.  
  
"He's my husband." Sheryl explained. It dawned on Fox. Oh yes, he remembered Agent Henning well.  
  
"Yeah I remember you."  
  
"Good. My wife has been telling a great deal about you. You're one interesting little creature." Agent Henning replied, smiling. Sheryl returned the smile.  
  
"I hope I'm not to much trouble." Fox replied, smiling to himself.  
  
"Well, Fox. I decided that today we would take you to your ship and check some stuff out." The president said. "And maybe check out your arwing."  
  
"Sounds great." Fox replied, looking out the tinted windows. Although he was trying to remember where they took the turns and stuff, he knew he couldn't. Being somewhat part of the military, he knew that they were to smart to just take him directly there; quickest way possible. They would take unnecessary turns and stops, just to throw him off.  
  
Around two hours later, after the long car ride, the car finally stopped at their destination. Having the door opened for him, Fox looked up to see a huge building. It looked more like a stadium it was so big. Sheryl took his hand, expecting to lead him into the building.  
  
Walking in front of them were about 18 military men, holding their guns. The President walked right behind Fox and Sheryl, watching Fox's reactions to the building. Agent Henning walked beside the president as well.  
  
"What is this place?" Fox asked, getting closer to the huge, Greek looking architecture. It had beautiful gray stones and great pillars. Fox half expected to see people, reporters, off on the sides, bombarding them with questions. They weren't there.  
  
"This is where we put your arwings and such." Agent Henning replied. "It's not far from where you landed, conveniently.  
  
Arriving at the big doors, the military men already had them open. The inside was about as extravagant as the outside. The room was huge. Humans were white lab coats were running around the immense room. In the middle of the room was the Great Fox. Fox wanted anything more than to just run up to it and fly out of there. On the sides were the arwings. Fox could see that the humans took a lot of things out of the Great Fox, leaving them on carts and lab tables.  
  
"Well, what do you think?" The president asked, stopping behind the fox.  
  
"I think you have my ship." Fox replied, walking forward. The president picked up his pace to keep up with Fox.  
  
"Did you bring my friends here too?" Fox asked.  
  
"Uh, no. Your toad friend was saying to bring you, your avian friends is way to hostile." The president said. Fox rolled his eyes, typical Falco. "And your hare friend said to bring you."  
  
"Oh," Fox responded, walking closer to the Great Fox.  
  
"Can I ask why?" The president asked, they arrived at the Great Fox. Fox turned towards the president.  
  
"'Cause I'm their leader. Now, what do you want me to show you?" Fox asked, taking control of the situation.  
  
"Let's just start with some stuff on the outside, ok?" The president said. Fox nodded. He didn't have much of a choice. They walked off to a little table that held a lot of Fox's belongings.  
  
"Ok, what's this?" The president asked, picking up his blaster.  
  
"My blaster." Fox responded.  
  
"How do you use it?" The president asked. By now, a lot of the people in coats were watching them.  
  
Fox lifted an eyebrow. "Do you want me to use it?"  
  
The president thought. "Yes, would you please." He said, handing Fox the blaster.  
  
Fox looked around for a target. "What do you want me to shoot?"  
  
The president looked around. "Shoot that pop can on the desk up there." The president said, pointing to a can of pop up on the second level. Fox just nodded. He was no sharp shooter, but was pretty good.  
  
He turned it on and charged it up. "Ok, here it goes." Fox said and let out the blast. Sure enough, the can was hit and fell to the floor.  
  
"Great. Wonderful. Did you see how he got it to work?" The president asked the white-coated lab men. They were writing furiously and nodding.  
  
"What else do you want to see?" Fox asked, looking bored. The president started walking ahead, walking past tables of Fox's stuff. The President stopped at a smaller table, full of electronics.  
  
"Here, what's this?" He asked, picking up a little miniature laptop. It could fit in the palm of his hand.  
  
"That's the ship's log." Fox said, taking it from the president. He didn't want to open it in case it did work. Allowing the humans to see the log might show them how to get to Cornaria; something he didn't want.  
  
"Can you make it work?"  
  
"No, it got broke when we came here." Fox lied. A quick and easy wire attachment would easily make it work.  
  
"Here, we took his off you when we detained you." The president said, holding his wristband controller. Fox's eyes widened with excitement. Grabbing it from the president, he looked it over for any broken spots.  
  
"Is that what you were taking about a little while back?" The president asked.  
  
"Yeah, do you have my communicator?"  
  
Agent Henning picked up the device from the electronics table, offering it to Fox. The president watched as Fox pressed a few buttons on the wristband. The communicator opened up a flash of light and a dogs face came into view in midair.  
  
"Fox?! Fox, where are you man?! General Pepper is having a shit fit!" Bill yelled at the vulpine.  
  
"Bill, relax. I can't talk very long." Fox said, looking at all the people around him. The president looked curious and interested.  
  
"Dude, where the hell are you? You just, like, vanished." Bill asked, unaware of the people around his friend.  
  
"I took a little detour." Fox replied hoping that was an acceptable answer for his long time friend.  
  
"Man, you missed this awesome mission General P had for ya guys. He gave it to some little shitty mercenary group. I guess they only got it completed, not accomplished. Pepper's pretty pissed. He really wanted you to have it."  
  
"Damn it. How much did it pay?"  
  
"Shit load but the mercenary group didn't get the whole pay check."  
  
"Damn, that sucks."  
  
"Yeah. Hey, why don't you have your comlink with you? I've been, like, trying to get a hold of you forever. You know, we were supposed to do something for your birthday?" Bill said.  
  
"Oh yeah. Sorry, dude, I totally forgot. It's alright. The next birthday is the one that really counts. We'll totally do something for that one." Fox said, trying to sound as casual as possible. This might be the last time he talks with his friend.  
  
Sheryl looked at Fox. She never saw his talk like this before. He sounded so casual, so grown up, so. . .so. . .happy. That's what he sounded like, happy. As she stared at the fox, she realized that he didn't belong here. He belonged back with his friend, back to his life. He didn't deserve to be a caged in animal.  
  
"Yeah so, how about getting together sometime? I just saw Katt. She says that we should all go out sometime. But I think she just wants Falco." Bill said, laughing to himself.  
  
"Yeah, we should get together sometime." Fox said, looking down. He knew it would never happen. He would never see his friend again.  
  
"Hey man, you alright? You look bumped."  
  
"Yeah, I'm fine. You know how I get around this time. It was only, like, a month ago." Fox said looking up. Sheryl continued staring at him, wondering what he was talking about.  
  
"Oh yeah. Fox, dude, you should have called me! We would have totally drowned our sorrows in liquor."  
  
Fox laughed. "Yeah, but I just kind of wanted to be alone, ya know?"  
  
"Yeah, work shit out." Bill said. The president continued watching the conversation, not wanted to interrupt.  
  
"Exactly. So how're things back home?"  
  
"Ehh, the normal. Well, at least no more attacks from Venom, thanks to you."  
  
"Hey, you helped too." Fox replied.  
  
Bill chuckled. "Very little. So little, I wasn't even mentioned. It doesn't matter though. I understand your reasoning for doing it. It wasn't for fame."  
  
Fox nodded slightly. He had to bring up his father. "Yeah. So, things back home are same old same old?"  
  
"Yep. The repairs on Cornaria City are almost complete, finally. I swear to god, it was Venoms ambition to put us into debt."  
  
"Yeah, knowing them, probably." Fox said, looking at the president to see how much time he had left to chat.  
  
"Hey, Fox, where are you guys? I can't find you guys anywhere!" Bill said.  
  
"Uh, we decided to take a little stop over from a mission we took." Fox lied.  
  
"Yeah? Where are you then?" Bill asked.  
  
"I dunno. Some little place by the Krakic System." Fox said, trying to sound as less interested as possible. He hoped that Bill would get the subtle hints of where he was.  
  
"By the Krakic system? What the hell are you doing there?" Bill asked, understanding where he was. Bill always excelled in mapping and different universes.  
  
"I dunno. Just decided to be a visitor." Fox replied. Sheryl caught his hints and what he was up to. She secretly looked around the room to see if they did as well. No one else looked as though they did.  
  
"Oh, that sounds cool. Is it nice there?"  
  
"Ehh, home's a lot better." Fox said honestly.  
  
"Yeah I bet. Dude, a lot of hot chicks there?"  
  
"Not exactly." Fox said, laughing, looking at the people. Bill caught why he was constantly looking around, and understood that people were watching their conversation.  
  
"That sucks then. How're their planes?" Bill asked.  
  
"God, you are obsessed!" Fox exclaimed.  
  
"What can I say? If I can't be as good as a flyer as you, I'll at least be familiar with aircrafts. How're they?"  
  
"Pretty shitty. Totally old school. Not even my dad old school. This is totally a third world planet when it comes to military."  
  
Sheryl glanced at the president to see how he felt on their turn of conversation. He didn't look fazed at all. He still listened, arms crossed.  
  
"Man, that sucks. I don't understand how planets can be so stupid. Lemme guess, they still use fuel for their air crafts?"  
  
Fox nodded.  
  
"Damn! That's pathetic! Fox, dude, ya gotta show 'em your arwing. Totally be like, 'Check out this baby compared to your pieces of shit.'" Bill said laughing.  
  
"Oh, I will." Fox said, laughing.  
  
Bill started squinting and looking hard at Fox.  
  
"Damn you Fox. I knew it!! You totally stole my AE shirt. When you come back, I'm stealing it back." Bill said, shaking his head in disapproval.  
  
"Not to sure about that Bill." Fox said laughing a bit. Sheryl understood what they were talking about.  
  
"Yeah, well, I've gotta go. Unlike you mercenary people, real military men don't get to take frequent breaks. I suppose I'll catch ya later then."  
  
"Yeah sure. I'll talk with you later Bill." Fox said, pressing a few buttons on his wristband. The face disappeared as quick as it came up.  
  
Everyone looked at him.  
  
"That was my friend, if you didn't guess." Fox explained.  
  
Sheryl looked at Fox. Fox looked back. She moved up to his body close, taking the wristband off his arm. She was so close; Fox could feel her body heat against his.  
  
Moving her head upwards, she whispered, "So, when do you plan on escaping?" 


	6. Deal making

**Wow! I'm still alive. I'm not sure if I'm going to continue this story or not because I don't have a certain idea of where to go with the story. **

**But, I am continuing for now. **

**Don't forget to check out "The Past Story" by myself too! It's probably my best story.**

* * *

"Sir, I must insist."

"Absolutely not Captain Grey," General Pepper said from sitting behind his oak shiny desk. After Bill got the message from Fox, he ran straight to his commanding officer, General Pepper. After several hours of long debate on starting a rescue mission, Bill's hope in Pepper was starting to fade. His one true friend was going to be stuck where ever he was forever.

"Sir, with all due respect," Bill stated, starting to stand from his seated position in front of the general. "This is the biggest bullshit I've ever heard!"

"Excuse me! I will not tolerate being talked to this way!" Pepper exclaimed, standing up, trying to get a more intimidating position. "Now you listen to me-"

"No! You listen to me!" Bill yelled, standing up as well. He might have not been as tall as Pepper, but he put on a good hard face. "Fox saved Corneria from hell during the war! Hell, he basically won us the war! And now you have the balls to stand by and watch him die!"

"How dare you accuse me of not caring!" Pepper yelled back a little too hostile. "I've known Fox ever since he was born! Now, the decision is not entirely mine. To make a rescue mission is a major ordeal. Also, Star Fox being a mercenary, doesn't make the requirements."

"How about being a friend?" Bill yelled at the last statement. If he wasn't required to drop his gun off at the secretary, he would have pistol whipped Pepper by now. "Is being a friend in those stupid requirements too?"

"Grey, as your commanding officer, I require the respect that I deserve," Pepper solemnly replied, taking his place back in the seat. He half hoped that Bill would follow suit and sit as well. However, to his dismay, Bill remained standing, in an aggressive position.

"Listen General," Bill said, taking the anger a little out of his voice. "I have my men ready. We're ready to go to the Krakic System and search for Fox. I think he may be in the-"

"Absolutely not! I have already given the answer. Fox is not part of our military. He is not part of our government," Pepper said, the hostile edge returning in his voice once again. "Thus, our emergency rescue mission requirements do not apply to him. Don't you understand me?"

Bill slowly nodded his head in understanding as he turned towards the door. "Yeah. Yeah I understand perfectly. You want me to give up on a great guy that never gave up on us," Bill replied reaching the door. "If you'll excuse me, I've got a friend to save."

"Captain! You'll loose your commanding position!" Pepper said, standing as he yelled.

"Fine. Court marshal me when I get back," Bill said as he gave a quick glance over his shoulder before finally walking through the open door in front of him. "I've got a friend to save now."

* * *

"So, this is what you call taking care of my arwing?" Fox replied, stepping up to his arwing. All around the ship was electronic equipment; computers, radars, readers, even power tools. After the scientists got the ship open and going once, they hadn't known how to keep it on, so it shut down. Since then, they weren't able to turn it back on.

"Well, we've done the best we can," The President replied, stepping toward Fox, who he watched in admiration. "Can you fly it?"

At this, Fox's ears perked up. Were they actually that stupid to let him take his ship out? For all they knew he could simply drop a bomb and kill their whole planet. Honestly thinking, however, Fox simply wanted to just fly away and get back to the Lylat System. He was in need of a long, long, long, vacation. "Of course I can fly it. Would you like me too?"

At this, the President looked like he was deep in thought. At the turn of the conversation, the scientists were listen intently, clipboards at the ready.

"Yes. Yes I would," the President simply answered. "Under one condition. We will have jet planes flying in the sky with you. They will record all your movements. If anything you do seems suspicious, they will not hesitate to shoot you down. If you manage to get away from them, then we will detonate the explosive we will be attaching to your ship. If a miracle happens and that fails to go off, then we will simply follow you with the homing beacon we also have attached. Mr. McCloud, any thoughts of escaping are, I hope, out of your mind."

_I've been in worse position_, Fox thought. _I wonder what dad would do_.

"Sounds good," Fox replied. "However, I have my own conditions you must follow. When I go back to that wonderful home I have back at the lab, I don't expect to be shoved back into the little cubical I've made home. I expect something nicer. I may not be human, but I am humane. I expect a normal living facility."

At this, Sheryl was stunned. She had not heard Fox take so much charge before. However, she hadn't seen him do his leader duty for Star Fox.

"Also, I expect to see my friends soon," Fox finished up. He knew he was pushing it with the first request. But the second request was a definite stretch.

Looking at the presidents face, you wouldn't guess he was even listening. His head was down and he was deep in thought. After a few seconds more, his prominent head popped up with a look of approval.

"Deal," The President said. "But here are my conditions for the meeting, Mr. McCloud. I say when, I say where, and I say how. If you don't like it, then you just won't meet them. There are no negotiations."

With a look of defeat, knowing that playing "Let's Make a Deal" was over, Fox simply nodded.

"Excellent," the President said, turning towards a young man with blonde hair and glasses. "Brian, will you please get the ship set up for flight. I think Mr. McCloud would appreciate a proper prep."

With a genuine smile from both Fox and the President, the young scientist started yelling out orders to other white lab-coated clad scientist. While they were retrieving the electronics from around the ship, Fox walked over to a table where they had nicely set all his personal belongings. Upon the table was his flight jacket, his boots, journal, and-

Picking up the framed picture of Fox and his late father, he couldn't help but think back to some of the things that he had said:

"_Even if something you know is wrong," James said, saying to his young son on his first day of being at his academy. "Trust what you say on the inside. Trust your instincts. Most of the time, you'll find they're right." _

At the time, Fox had no idea what that meant. At the time, Fox hadn't even cared what it meant. Now, however, in his moment of desperation, he clung on to ever word his father had told him. Every word that seemed like it could help him get out of the situation.

"_Fox, you need to learn when to leave people," James said. "If ever you get in a bad situation, and it's between you and your team, you need to worry about what's best for the team. As a leader, you need to learn to put the teams best interest first. Even if that means you staying behind."_

"_Would you do that, dad?" the young fox asked. _

_At this, the father had to stop and think. He had to think of leaving his son, leaving his house, his home. "I don't know," he answered. "I honestly don't. I guess it all depends on the moment. When the moment comes, then I'll know." _

"Well, the moment came," Fox whispered to himself, holding the picture an arms length away. "And you did the right thing."

"Fox," Sheryl called. "Your arwing is ready for you."

"Ok," Fox replied. "I'll be right there."

_Time to shine_, Fox thought before dropping the picture down and turning around to face his next challenge - escaping.


	7. Escape Gone Wrong

**Ok, now that I updated my other story, I can update this one. Thanks for all the reviews (A little impatient Saburo?) But, I'm back! All the feedback is awesome and makes me want to continue more. **

**So, here's the chapter!**

* * *

"Entering Krakic System," the computer said to Bill, who was at the helm of the spacecraft.

"Excellent. Now, it should be a primitive planet, from the way Fox described it. Look for a planet that still uses fuel for their aircrafts," Bill ordered into the invisible servant. Instead of putting other officers' ranks on the line, Bill chose to stick the mission out on his own. He figured he would be kicked out of the military upon his return, why bring down any other good commanders?

"Processing information now, sir," the computer read back.

"Excellent," Bill replied, his face studying the ground intently. He had been pacing the floor back and forth, attempting to come up with a plan. Millions of different scenario's passed through his brain. Why was Fox in the Krakic System? What happened? What ever happened must have been big enough to shake Fox up.

"Found planet matching description," the computer answered after a few seconds. "Planet found in Milky Way."

"Milky Way? Are you sure?" Bill asked, his face screwed up in confusion. What the hell would Fox be doing over there? How did he get that far?

"Affirmative," the mechanical voice answered. "The planet is inaccessible."

Upon hearing this, Bill swiftly walked to the controls where he figured the voice was coming from. "Inaccessible? That's impossible. Fox is there!"

"We have over plotted the entrance to the portal to enter."

"Portal?" Bill inquired, more edge coming to him with each passing second. Each second could be very important for Fox's survival.

"Correct. There is a required portal to pass through in order to obtain entry to the system."

"Fine. Then turn around and enter the damn hole!" Bill bellowed. He was sick and tired of this stupid nonsense. One thing needed to be done, save Fox. Staring out intently into the stars, Bill wondered, but how?

"Sir, I don't think this was a good idea," Agent Henning whispered in the presidents ear from his right side. While it wasn't exactly his place to put in his opinion, he felt it had to be heard.

"Your thinking means little to me," the President fiercely said, glaring at the agent. "This is the best discovery since the landing on the moon. And to just think we got it before the European Union."

"Lift off in five, four," the loud speakers boomed. The group was standing outside in a close by field, watching the arwing take flight. The passenger inside was secure and jets were already in the sky waiting for it's arrival. The president, although it was highly discouraged, stood close by where he could observe. "..three, two, one. Take off."

When those two words were said, Fox left no time in boosting up his arwing, turning the thrusters on max, and lifting off. Sure, he fully understood that he would be watched intently, but that meant nothing. Just being in the sky was enough relaxation.

"_See Fox, this is the way you fly when you need a release," James' voice boomed from the side of his five year old son. "Flying shouldn't be thought of as just a way of war. It's also a relaxer. Just clear your mind. Think only of the sky in front of you. You'll sleep easier." He added a little chuckle at the end._

Fox's paw gripped the controls as the memory faded. _You're right dad, I just need to relax_, Fox thought, as he loosened his grip. Things were getting too out of hand and he just needed to sort things out. He needed to become one with the spacecraft. After realizing that he wasn't going to escape with all the worries floating around in his head, he cleared his mind and flew like his father taught him.

"What's going on?" The President asked a white coated scientist, who was standing nearby.

"He seems to be slowing down, sir. Shall we open communications?"

"No, it won't be necessary. Just keep an eye on him." The President exclaimed, turning his head back to the TV screen which had a live feed on the flying craft. His head turned in confusion as he tried to wonder what the vulpine could actually do.

_Just relax Fox,_ Fox thought to himself, taking a deep breath and closing his eyes, _Just relax. Nobody's watching you. There's no jets flying around you with bombs on. Just relax_. With one final breathe, he opened his eyes and employed his plan for survival.

"Mr. President?" The scientist tried to get the president's attention. "The vulpine has opened communication and wants to speak to you."

"Yes, of course," the president answered, hurryingly rushing to the mans side. Something was wrong. They were only up in the sky for five minutes or less and the alien already wanted to talk. With sweating forming on his brow, he picked up the head set.

"Yes Mr. McCloud?" The president asked, trying to hide the fear in his voice.

Fox closed his eyes again as he tightened the grip on his emergency Barriers that he kept in his arwing. "I wanted to talk about our deal."

"You have my attention." At this, the president started to become worried and gave the signal to start moving in on the arwing.

Glancing around, Fox noticed the jets starting to advance on him. "Well, lets just say I don't like it. I've found a new deal. One that ends in me surviving."

And with that, Fox slammed his paw down on the Nova Bomb, sending it's destructing path towards the large body of water that lay in front of him. After hitting that, he gripped his Barrier's and pushed the emergency release switch, resulting in the cockpit opening and him shooting out. As he hit the cold air, he was swift enough to activate one of the Barrier's.

Due to the bomb's evil path, it hit the water, resulting in a huge aquatic explosion. Some jets were taken out by it. The other jets watched the arwing, oblivious to the floating fox.

"What happened! I want personnel all over that!" The President yelled at the many running scientists. "I want answers people!"

What seemed like forever, Fox turned on the thrusters located on the sides of his chair, resulting in him slowing down. It was a good alternative than to have a parachute. Parachutes are huge and uncovering.

The ground came up faster than he would have liked. Instead of the nice landing Fox imagined, he was greeted with whiplash from his thrusters giving out and landing in a tree. When he thought his day couldn't get worse, he glanced up. Instead of seeing the pretty blue sky, he was blessed with the view of a large branch that made his world all black.


End file.
